Watchdog welcomes commitment to implement General Data Protection Regulation

The Information Commissioner has described as “good news for the UK” the Government’s announcement that it will implement the General Data Protection Regulation.

Culture Secretary Karen Bradley told the Culture, Media and Sports Select Committee last week that: “We will be members of the EU in 2018 and therefore it would be expected and quite normal for us to opt into the GDPR and then look later at how best we might be able to help British business with data protection while maintaining high levels of protection for members of the public.”

In her latest blog, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: “The major shift with the implementation of the GDPR will be in giving people greater control over their data. This has to be a good thing. Today’s consumers understand that they need to share some of their personal data with organisations to get the best service. But they’re right to expect organisations to then keep that information safe, be transparent about its use and for organisations to demonstrate their accountability for their compliance.”

Denham, who took up her role in July this year, said the Information Commissioner’s Office was committed to assisting businesses and public bodies to prepare to meet the requirements of the GDPR ahead of May 2018 and beyond.

“As early as January 2016, we met with organisations to better understand the challenges they will face to comply with the law, and we’ve already started to publish work to help with that, from our 12 steps to take towards compliance to our recent privacy notices code of practice which includes GDPR detail,” she pointed out.

The ICO will, within the next month, publish a revised timeline setting out what areas of guidance it will be prioritising over the next six months.

The watchdog has already issued an overview to GDPR, setting out the key themes of the regulation to help organisations understand the similarities with the existing UK Data Protection Act, and some of the new requirements.

Denham said: “I acknowledge that there may still be questions about how the GDPR would work on the UK leaving the EU but this should not distract from the important task of compliance with GDPR by 2018.  We’ll be working with government to stay at the centre of these conversations about the long term future of UK data protection law and to provide our advice and counsel where appropriate.”